Switching to a pump

DRAGEX323 said:

So I have been diabetic for around about 12 years now so injecting is pretty normal for me,however I am tired of constantly trying to correct my blood glucose levels which can be all over the place.
Is there anyone around the 14-16 age group who has switched over who can help me to understand the benefits of a pump over injections?

Click to expand...

Hi - there is also the Pump subforum here .
Feel free to pop a post on it and take a look at it too .
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/insulin-pump-forum.14/

The best thing about the pump is you don't have set times to eat anymore and you don't have to get up at certain times. The pump gives you your injections for you and I switched over 6 years ago and it's the best decision I've made. You'll find it so much better and easier, it's so amazing!

I used to worry about that, it's honestly fine. If it gets knocked yes it hurts a small amount for a little bit but you get better control and you can do whatever you want

DRAGEX323 said:

It does sound better, I might be going to the pump meet up in addenbrooks on the 27th of September, I just have to organise travel to Cambridge

Click to expand...

You'll enjoy it, listen to everything they tell you but basically it's so much easier!

I would highly recommend it!

I changed 4years ago and it was the best thing I could have done cuz the pump you have it near your body you don't need an extra bag for it and you can inject better like for example when I had the pen and I needed to inject 4,3 I only could do 4,0 or 4,5 and with the pump you can do all of that

Alright, I'm a month away from fourteen, so I'm just going to weigh in since I've had diabetes longer than most of the people on this site.

Everyone says it's great, even the doctors. And, I won't lie, it does help with diabetes. It brought my A1C from 8.9 to 7.2 in just a few months. But I'm going to be honest and let you know the annoying parts.

First of all, pet's are a problem. I have three cats and two dogs; all they do is chew my wires. It horrible. Plus, I go to a school that's also a farm, long story, and we have goats. Goats, charming as they are, love to eat anything. Also, be careful when sleeping. I find it painful to seep with it clipped onto my pants, so I pull the pup off and set it beside me. I roll and sleep walk, and I very often wake up to the wire beings wrapped around me and the site being out.

I do say though, as annoying as things can be, it helps wonderfully. I got on it three years ago (a OneTouch Ping), and it helps a lot. I'll always have the rock hard scar tissue on my legs and arms, but it prevents it from getting worse.

Benefits to Teenagers

My son switched to a pump when he was 14 and I'll explain the main benefit of a pump for a teenager as was presented to me in a talk before he switched to a pump. Basically there's a direct link between your HbA1c and risk of long terms complications like liver disease etc. The most crucial years to keep your diabetes under control are your adolescent years. How you control your diabetes in your teenage years affects your long term health more than any other. I think it's why kids under a certain age get priority for going on a pump with the NHS. As I understand it if you wait till you're older you've kind of missed the boat and it's harder to get funding.

There's loads of advantages of the pump over an injection each playing a part in bringing your HbA1c down. Two which I think are particularly important are that pump injects different amounts of insulin all the time and this really helps to keep night time levels steady. Another benefit is that different types of food need insulin delivered in a different manner. For instance chicken and mash may need all your insulin delivered upfront as normal, however something like spaghetti needs insulin to be delivered gradually over several hours otherwise you risk a hypo followed by a high several hours later. The pump can be programmed to deliver your meal bolus how you want.

Don't get me wrong though there are downsides to the pump. There's hell of a lot to learn and the first month in particular is a nightmare especially as you work out the correct insulin rates and when things go wrong, they go wrong big time so you're always worrying about things. But it really helps in enabling to take control of your diabetes and at your age it's especially important.

Anyway that's just my opinion.